Hosta plant named &#39;Angel Falls&#39;

ABSTRACT

The new and distinct  Hosta  plant named  Hosta  ‘Angel Falls’ with arching, elongated, cordate leaves having dark green margins with wide yellowish centers that develop into a creamy-white to near whitecenters. Flowers are light lavender on large-sized plant held attractively above the variegated foliage; each flower subtended and set off by large pointed bract.

Latin botanical classification: Hosta hybrid (Tratt.).

Variety denomination: ‘Angel Falls’.

BACKGROUND OF THE PLANT

The present invention relates to the new and distinct hosta plant, Hosta‘Angel Falls’ discovered by Hans A. Hansen on spring of 2010 in agreenhouse at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich., USA. Theplant was found as an un-induced whole plant mutation of the Hostacultivar ‘Niagara Falls’ (not patented). ‘Angel Falls’ can best bedescribed as a reverse color pattern mutation from ‘Bridal Falls’ U.S.Plant Pat. No. 25,594 where the leaf variegation has switched positions.

The most similar known hosta cultivars are: ‘American Hero’ U.S. PlantPat. No. 23,587, Bridal Falls' U.S. Plant Pat. No. 25,594, ‘Cyclone’(not patented), ‘Greenhead Center Court’ (not patented), ‘Niagara Falls’(not patented), ‘Satin Doll’ (not patented), ‘The Queen’ (not patented),and ‘Guardian Angel’ (not patented).

Compared to the sport parent, Hosta ‘Niagara Falls’, the new plant, issmaller in habit and has leaves with that emerge with creamy yellowcenters that develop to a creamy white to near white and sinuate orundulate margins of dark green margins. The flower scape generallygreyed-yellow colored on the new plant rather than olive green. Comparedto ‘American Hero’ the new plant has more arching foliage with strongersinuate to undulate leaf margins. ‘Satin Doll’ has similar shapedfoliage, but the margin is not as sinuate to undulate as in ‘AngelFalls’. Compared to ‘Guardian Angel’ the new plant has foliage that ismore sinuate to undulate, and the center leaf color of ‘Guardian Angel’is viridescent rather than albescent. ‘Cyclone’ is a smaller plant, hassmaller leaves with leaf centers that are more white in the spring, andwithout the arching habit and lacks the sinuate to undulate margin. Thenew plant is larger in both height and width than ‘Greenhead CenterCourt’ and also has a more cordate leaf base and more sinuate toundulate margin. ‘The Queen’ is smaller in habit, has flowers that aredeeper lavender, stiffer more upright foliage and less sinuate toundulate margins.

No plants of Hosta ‘Angel Falls’ have been sold, in this country oranywhere in the world, prior to the filing of this application, nor hasany disclosure of the new plant been made prior to the filing of thisapplication with the except that which was disclosed within one year ofthe filing of this application and was either derived directly orindirectly from the inventor.

‘Angel Falls’ has not been observed under all possible environments. Thephenotype may vary slightly with different environmental conditions,such as temperature, light, fertility, moisture and maturity levels, butwithout any change in the genotype.

The new plant has been successfully propagated by division of therhizome at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich., USA and alsoby tissue culture methods and found to produce identical plants thatmaintain the unique characteristics of the original plant. The plant isstable and reproduces identical, true to type individuals in successivegenerations of asexual reproduction.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PLANT

There are over 5,400 cultivars registered with The American HostaSociety, which is the International Cultivar Registration Authority forthe genus Hosta and a similar number of unregistered cultivars. Hosta‘Angel Falls’ differs from all these registered and unregisteredcultivars known to the inventor in the following combined traits:

-   -   1. Plant of moderate size with foliage that arches over in        maturity.    -   2. Elongated cordate foliage that emerges with yellowish centers        and develops to a creamy-white to near-white with sinuate        margins of dark green margins.    -   3. Foliage has deeply impressed veins above and sharply costate        below.    -   4. Numerous light-lavender slightly pendulous flowers on erect        scapes well above foliage with large bracts below each flower.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The photographs of the five-year-old plant demonstrate the overallappearance of the plant, including the unique traits, grown in apartially shaded greenhouse in Zeeland, Mich. The colors are as accurateas reasonably possible with color reproductions. Ambient light spectrum,source, direction and temperature may cause the appearance of minorvariation in color.

FIG. 1 shows a multi-division clump of a five-year-old plant inmid-season.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up of a leaf with variegation and sinuate margin.

FIG. 3 shows a close-up of the flowers of six-month-old plants with lessmature foliage but later in the season.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following descriptions and color references are based on the 2001edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except wherecommon dictionary terms are used. The new plant, Hosta ‘Bridal Falls’,has not been observed under all possible environments. The phenotype mayvary slightly with different environmental conditions, such astemperature, light, fertility, growth rate, moisture and specimenmaturity, but without any change in the genotype. One skilled in the artwould recognize the phenotype of the new plant would differ based onmaturity level or number of years without dividing. The followingobservations and size descriptions are of a five-year-old plant in agreenhouse in Zeeland, Mich. with white plastic glazing and lightfertilizer.

-   Botanical classification: Hosta hybrid;-   Mutation parentage: Hosta ‘Niagara Falls’ (not patented);-   Propagation method: by sterile laboratory tissue culture propagation    and garden division;-   Growth rate: moderate;-   Crop time: under normal winter and spring growing conditions about    24 to 27 weeks to finish from a from rooted tissue culture liner to    a 65 mm pot;-   Time to initiate roots from tissue culture about three weeks;-   Plant description:-   Plant shape and habit: hardy, long-lived, herbaceous perennial,    densely rhizomatous, forming a large mounded clump in maturity, with    basal rosette of arching leaves on long petioles; usually radially    symmetrical;-   Roots: normal, fleshy, lightly branching, cream-colored in normal    soil;-   Plant size: foliage height about 50 cm tall; width of plant at the    widest point is approximately 90 cm at the widest point just above    soil line; about 15 divisions;-   Foliage description:-   Leaf blade: cordate; entire sinuate margins; cordate leaf base with    acute to acuminate apex; flat, mostly bilaterally symmetrical, with    deeply impressed adaxial veins and ribbed abaxial; glabrous adaxial    and abaxial; adaxial surface slightly glaucous becoming dull    matte-surfaced late in growing season, abaxial surface moderately    glaucous remaining throughout growing season; margin variegation    width portion increasing with maturity from year to year; width of    variegation irregular with jetting of intermediate portion, to about    4.2 cm, average of about 2.5 cm; length to width ratio of about    1.5:1.0; to about 33.5 cm long and 20.0 cm across, average about    27.5 cm long and 15.5 cm wide; 13 to 14 pairs of major parallel    veins and one main center vein;-   Blade color: early season as emerging adaxial center more yellow    than RHS 145D and more green than RHS 160B, adaxial margin between    RHS 138A and RHS 138B, intermediate colors of RHS 145B, nearest RHS    138D and nearest RHS 144D in small irregular and linear patches    between the margin and center; early season as emerging abaxial    center more green than RHS 11B and more yellow than RHS 162D,    abaxial margin more yellow than RHS 138A and more green than RHS    147B, intermediate colors of nearest RHS 145C and nearest RHS 148D    in large irregular and linear patches between the margin and center;    mid-season and later adaxial margin nearest RHS 137A, creamy-white    center lighter than RHS 155D, large and small irregular intermediate    patches of nearest RHS 147D and other smaller intermediate patches    of nearest RHS 145D, lighter and greener than RHS 148C and lighter    than RHS 153D; mid-season and later abaxial margin nearest RHS    N138B, creamy centers lighter than RHS 155D and large and small    irregular intermediate patches or striations of nearest RHS 145A,    RHS N144A, RHS 151C and RHS 154D; Veins: 13 to 14 pairs of major    parallel veins, with midrib; veins impressed to a depth of about 3.0    mm above and ridged below;-   Vein color: on early season adaxial margin nearest RHS 138A, and    center nearest RHS 145C; abaxial margin and center the same color as    the surrounding leaf tissue;-   Petioles: entire, concavo-convex, glabrous, glaucous, upright to    arching; to about 39.5 cm long and about 1.8 cm wide, average about    35.5 cm long and about 1.2 cm wide measured at about 3 cm above soil    line;-   Petiole color: adaxial and abaxial margin between RHS 138C and RHS    138B, and lighter than RHS 155D in the adaxial and abaxial center;-   Flower description:    -   -   Buds.—clavate; bluntly acute to rounded apex with longer            thin base; one day prior to opening about 6.5 cm long and            1.7 cm wide at the broadest portion.        -   Bud color.—lighter than RHS 85D at proximal fused base and            lighter still to near white with very slight tinting of RHS            85D at the distal end.        -   Flowers.—closely arranged, 20 to 28 per scape; each            subtended by bract; funnelform; about 5.4 cm wide and 6.8 cm            long, (distal flowers slightly smaller); remain open for a            normal period, usually one day on or cut from plant; scapes            remain effective from late-June into mid-July in Zeeland,            Mich.        -   Flower fragrance.—no detectable fragrance.        -   Tepals.—two sets of three fused in the basal two thirds;            acute apex; margins entire; glabrous, approximately 6.8 cm            long and 1.4 cm wide.        -   Tepal color.—abaxial tepal color lighter than RHS 85D;            abaxial corolla tube portion nearest mixture of RHS 192D and            lighter than RHS 85D; adaxial tepal center middle portion            nearest RHS 84C with adaxial margins near white, lighter            than RHS N155D in outer 1.0 to 2.0 mm; inner tepals with            clear transparent edge of about 1.0 mm wide.-   Gynoecium: single;    -   -   Style.—about 7.3 cm long, 1 mm diameter, curled slightly            upward in the distal 1.5 mm; color white, lighter than RHS            155D the with basal 1.5 mm nearest RHS 145D.        -   Stigma.—globose; 1 mm to 2 mm in diameter, color lighter            than RHS 155D.        -   Ovary.—oval, about 6 mm long and 3 mm diameter; between RHS            145A and RHS 145B.-   Androecium: six;    -   -   Filaments.—six, about 6.9 cm long and 1.0 mm in diameter;            with slight curve upward in proximal 1.5 mm; color lighter            than RHS 11D.        -   Anthers.—oblong; dorsifixed; versatile, longitudinal; about            4.0 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, color nearest RHS 11C.        -   Pollen: elliptical, less than 0.1 mm long, color nearest RHS            13B.-   Bracts: subtending each flower, lanceolate, margins entire,    glaucous, glabrous, concavo-convex, widest at middle and gradually    tapering to acute apex and sessile clasping base; size of lowest    bract about 6.4 cm long and 1.5 cm wide before first flower,    progressively decreasing in both length and width; drying as flowers    open;-   Bract color: adaxial and abaxial margins nearest RHS 146B with    slight tinting of nearest RHS N186B; adaxial blend between RHS 145B,    RHS 145C and RHS 160A, abaxial center nearest RHS 145D; after flower    drop and before drying developing to nearest RHS N144D;-   Pedicel: terete, glaucous, glabrous; about 10.0 mm long and 3.0 mm    diameter; attitude outward;-   Pedicel color: nearest RHS 145C with a tint of RHS N187C;-   Peduncle: terete, glaucous, glabrous, typically unbranched; usually    one per mature division, mostly upright to slightly arching to about    15 degrees from vertical; about 8 to 10 mm diameter at base, about    70 to 80 cm tall;-   Peduncle color: beginning nearest RHS 146D and upon maturity nearest    RHS 160A;-   Fruit: non-fleshy, dehiscent, tri-loculicidal capsule; oblong    ellipse; about 3.2 cm long and 5.0 mm in diameter; color as maturing    nearest RHS 146D, when nearly mature and prior to dehiscence nearest    RHS 150D and upon dehiscence nearest RHS 161C;-   Seeds: elliptic; with flattened wing surrounding embryo situated    toward one end of ellipse; about 10 mm long, 2.5 mm wide and 1.0 mm    thick at embryo; typically 6 to 24 per capsule; color nearest RHS    202A with maturity;-   Disease and pest resistance: Disease or pest resistance beyond that    common to hostas has not been observed. The plant grows best with    light fertilizer, plenty of moisture and adequate drainage, but is    able to tolerate some flooding and drought when mature. Hardiness at    least from USDA zone 3 through 9, and other disease resistance is    typical of that of other hostas.

1. A new and distinct ornamental Hosta plant named ‘Angel Falls’ as herein described and illustrated. 